


The Boogeyman

by dralexreid



Series: Dr Piper Bishop [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27031867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dralexreid/pseuds/dralexreid
Summary: summary: oc is dr. piper bishop. her qualifications are 4 Ph.Ds in different branches of psychology, a master’s in history and bachelor’s in literature all by 22 (I wanted her to compete w/ reid). based on S2E6: The Boogeyman
Relationships: Dr Spencer Reid/Dr Piper Bishop
Series: Dr Piper Bishop [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972852
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	The Boogeyman

When her honey-brown eyes fluttered awake, it was still dark. 5:30 am. She rose out of bed, rubbing her eyes, like a child waking up on a Sunday morning. Slipping on her ruby slippers, she staggered to the kitchen, remnants of last night’s class schedule and history projects strewn across her beige countertop, to make a cup of tea. It was strange, here in Ozona, to drink iced coffee, never mind tea. She set the kettle, pulled her long cardigan to cover her chest and regarded the manor in the woods. The whistle shattered her gaze at the dilapidated house.

In Virginia, 6 agents discussed the death of two children in the middle of Texas. “Nicholas Faye of Ozona, Texas, was beaten to death roughly 13 hours ago. Blunt force trauma to the head,” JJ sighed. There was never a good day nor time to deliberate on innocent and defenceless children. But she’d worked this job too long to slip into that pattern of doom and gloom. “He’s the second young boy to die the same way in the last 2 months. A local hunter found his body in the woods. First victim’s name, Robbie Davis.”

“Are these boys connected somehow?” asked Morgan.

“Ozona’s population is roughly 2 500. Everyone has some kind of connection.”

“Well, if they weren’t linked before they certainly are now.” Morgan wore the same grim expression of exasperation as JJ. The agents agreed that they were both murdered by the same offender who was hunting children. The repulsiveness wasn’t lost on any of them.

* * *

Piper Bishop was a history teacher. She asked herself why every day. Every day she’d sit on her front porch, sipping on tea, asking why. Her entire life, she’d wanted to help people, and her entire life, she questioned if it was enough. She wasn’t smart enough to go to medical school, her father had made sure she understood that at most. Her clear preference for the humanities was seen as repulsive, condemned for “supporting these damn bleeding-heart liberals”. Neither were Daniel’s remarks lost on her. She remembered her last reunion with her siblings. “You have 4 Ph.Ds Pipes,” he’d said, blues gazing at browns. “Why are you teaching school kids?” She’d find the answer every time a young girl whispered about a bully in her ear, every time a young boy bared his scars to her. She’d tried doing the psychiatry gig, but the stigma behind her patients meant she had none. Her father’s words still stuck to her. Though she’d shaken him off, his voice became her own. _What if he is right though? What if you really won’t amount to anything?_ Piper laughed at her own absurdity. She’d almost missed the sunrise. The warm sun peeking out at her behind the trees melted away all her doubts. “Time for school Dr Bishop.”

* * *

“You guys hear Elle was cleared?” Spencer sat down with his cup of hot coffee in front of Derek and JJ. Well, more sugar than coffee anyway.

“Self-defence,” Derek stated, flipping through the files, with an air of disbelief.

“So it was a good shot.” Derek turned towards the young agent.

“She hit what she was aiming for,” JJ commented without a glance at the two men in front of her, eyes focused on the case at hand.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” The blonde agent said.

“If they cleared her,” Morgan asked finally, “Then how come she’s not here with us? Or Hotch?”

“Focus on the case,” Gideon reprimanded, seated away from them. Taking it as a sign to change the conversation, JJ handed out the autopsy reports. Morgan then suggested the bludgeoning was a form of frustration or rage.

“With no apparent sexual motivation,” Reid added, “that’s rare when the victims are this young.”

“The unsure is taking pleasure from the kill itself.” Gideon contributed.

“If it’s not sexual, what’s the significance in killing young males?”

“Most serial killers prey upon specific types to carry out fantasies of revenge,” Spencer answered, drawing on his memory. “Bundy killed women that looked like an ex-girlfriend who jilted him, Dahmer claimed that schoolyard harassment federal into his fury.”

“Okay, so maybe these kids represent someone who victimised the offender?”

“Unlikely,” JJ replied, “They just found another body. 11-year-old girl.”

* * *

Piper glanced over her desk quickly once more. Her worksheets were ready, her timeline of Alexander the Great was drawn up and her map of Alexander’s territory was pinned, dotted with little flags and sketched out. She was determined to make this module the best one yet to make up for the tension in the classroom. She’d already lost 2 kids to that coward in the woods, she wasn’t about to lose a third. The Persian horde had arrived and the young doctor opened the gates to receive the 45 little kids raging to their beloved history teacher. No, 43 now, she chided herself. Closing the door, she mentally reminded her to control her emotions. She turned to face her little devils, “Who’s ready to fight the Macedonians?”

Her warm eyes flitted across the desks. That was weird. Three desks were empty this time. “Has anyone seen Sarah?” She entertained her class for a while and told them to take a worksheet each while she made a call. Piper popped her head into Mr Davison’s class and asked him to keep an eye on her class. She tapped her fingers erratically while the administration office checked up on Mrs Peterson. “Well?”

“Dr Bishop, Sarah’s not at home either.”

Piper took a shaky breath before entering her classroom. _She’ll be fine. She probably got lost on her way to school. The police will do their job. Relax._

“Okay, who can tell me who Alexander is?”

Hailey jumped up and recited, “Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the…” The young brunette stumbled. Piper could see the happiness leech from the young girl’s face.

Jeffrey yelled, sticking his tongue out. “She can’t even speak. Are you dumb, Hailey?” Instantly, she flitted over to the young ginger boy, asking him to wait for her outside. Piper turned her attention to the tears rapidly forming in the other child’s blinking eyes. Piper handed her a tissue from her desk and kneeled down next to her. “It’s okay kiddo. We make mistakes sometimes. That doesn’t mean we stop trying. What do you think that word says?” After a couple of tries, Hailey got the hang of it, and Piper could move on to deal with Jeffrey. She found him seated against the wall and she sank down to sit next to him.

"Why'd you say that to Hailey, Jeffrey?" He simply shrugged passively, his gaze trained intensely at the other wall. "You know you hurt her feelings, don't you?"

"So?" he burst out and Piper practically jumped at his outburst. She tried a different tack.

"How would you feel if someone called you an idiot?"

"I'm not an idiot!" he yelled at his teacher. "I'm not stupid, not like..." he trailed off, noticing her stern look and slumped against the wall. "Are you gonna tell Dad?" She licked her lips as she rested her head against the wall.

"Not if you apologise to Hailey." He jumped up at that, bursting into the classroom and Piper sighed, following while she watched him yell an apology at Hailey before taking his seat. Piper resumed her stance at the front of the class.

“Alex spent most of his years on a military campaign through western Asia and northeast Africa,” Piper said, drawing their attention to what she’d say was an impressive map. “And by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India.”

* * *

Gideon and the local sheriff trudged through fallen leaves to the site of where the battered boy was. “This isn’t a dump site,” Gideon noted, “the murder happened right here.” Kneeling down, he said, more to his own benefit than the sheriff, “Autopsy report claims no sign of a struggle.”

“Poor little guy never had a chance.”

Gideon envisioned the incident. The 8-year-old boy walking past, turning back to see his abuser.

“The victims knew their killer.” He muttered to himself. “Followed them to this spot.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, the kids went this deep into the woods because they trusted them. Probably stashed his weapon here beforehand. We’re looking for someone intelligent, methodical, but the method of killing doesn’t fit. It’s confusing. Doesn’t make sense.” Gideon’s words were as fragmented as his thoughts, desperately trying to pull the pieces together.

Less than a quarter-mile away from the other dumpsites, the gangly doctor stood next to the bagged and battered kid. “Violence was post-mortem,” revealed the medical examiner on the case, equally horrified at the scenes unfolding over the past few weeks.

“So, the killer’s becoming more brazen.”

“But now he’s spending more time with the victims even after death.” Morgan glanced at the yellow ‘Hunting Area’ sign nailed to a tree. “If he’s a hunter,” Derek turned to Spencer, “he’d know every inch of these woods.”

* * *

The PA squealed out just as Piper was getting to the Persian conquest. “All students, please head to the assembly hall immediately, all teachers to the teacher’s lounge.” The young woman herded the daydreamers out, grabbed her Doctor Who mug and rushed to the lounge. Whilst pouring herself a cup of coffee, James told her about the parents and the BAU members coming to discuss the murders. Steeling herself for a gruesome speech, Piper headed over to the hall to introduce the kids to FBI agents while James stayed behind to console parents. While the soles of her sneakers rushed, her head wandered. _Who were these agents? Were these kids gonna be okay?_ At the entrance to the hall, her forehead wrinkled and her body collided with a lanky agent and her warm coffee stained the whole of both their cardigans, her brain juice spilling all over the floor.

“Sorry,” they both exclaimed. Gideon and JJ walked by, snickering as she entered the hall, but Gideon barely spared them a glance.

“Seriously, I am so sorry.” Piper gushed. “I have tissues, and there’s a bathroom right there.”

The agent just laughed and peeled the wet cardigan off. “Don’t worry about it, it’s brown anyway.” He stared at your TARDIS mug. “Is that…” Piper blanched. Did she now also have to explain Doctor Who to him?

“I know it looks like a phone booth but it’s actually a…” She stumbled. “I have no idea how to explain this without sounding like I’m a complete lunatic.”

“No, I know what Doctor Who is.” He chuckled softly.

Piper sighed in relief. “Finally, you have no idea the glances I get for this thing.”

“Reid!” Gideon yelled from the hallway.

“That’s me. Bye.” Spencer waved awkwardly at the young woman in front of him, before sidestepping her quickly to get to his mentor.

* * *

“It could be someone you know or it could be a stranger you pass at the grocery store. But it’s vital that we keep our eyes open and our children close. Now as Ozona’s guidance counsellor, I can only help your children with the aftermath but our police department is working with the FBI, gathering information on the case. To elaborate on that, Agent Jason Gideon.” James introduced the middle-aged agent to the anxious parents sitting in the lounge. Reid stood behind his mentor.

“We want you to know we’re doing everything we can to find the person responsible. Until we do there are a number of precautions you need to take. Let me go over some of them with you.”

* * *

Piper watched the kids attentively, just barely paying Agent Jareau and Agent Morgan attention.

“It’s a buddy system,” JJ started. “That means you always go everywhere with a friend.”

“That’s because bad men and women only talk to us when we’re alone.”

“We don’t know what these guys look like yet. It might be someone you know.”

Hailey raised her hand.

“Yeah, sweetheart, you got a question?” Piper was touched by the kindness in Agent Morgan’s voice. You couldn’t fake that tenderness.

Hailey took a deep breath, “There was this little girl once on the news who just got grabbed right in front of our house. Could that happen to us?”

The tall agent looked back at Agent Jareau. Piper understood the hesitation.

“Hailey, sweetheart, nothing will happen to you, you have my word.” She walked over to the young girl and gently rubbed her shoulder. “So long as you listen to the FBI, honey.” She nodded to the agents and stepped back.

* * *

“Any more questions?” Gideon asked.

“Did you ever find his hat?” Mrs Faye asked in a trembling voice, fighting the urge to cry.

“'Scuse me?” Jason was confused.

“The red one I put on him. He was wearing it when he left.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs Faye,” Jason rubbed his hand.

“Mandatory curfew at 5 pm,” James interjected and dismissed the parents. “Just make sure you know where your children are.”

* * *

Piper grabbed her bag after the last bell had gone. The ghosts of Robbie, Nicholas and Sarah hadn’t left her head. She wished she could kiss the fear away from those kids. Piper jumped at the rap on the door. She turned to see the tall lanky man, Reid, she amended and the darker man next to him, Derek, she remembered.

“Agent Morgan. What can I do you for?”

“Just a few routine questions.” Piper gestured to the seat next to her desk.

“How can I help you?”

“How long have you worked here?”

“Must be about a year now.”

“As a history teacher?” Piper smiled.

“Did you guess from the armour and the coffin?” The tall doctor swung his head to take a look at the almost replica of armour. She noticed him move over to the steel replica, smiling slightly at his curiosity only to tear her gaze to Agent Morgan.

“Have you noticed anyone looking at the children in a strange way?” Morgan continued.

“Are these originals?” Reid interrupted, standing next to the large coffin on the other side of the room. Piper laughed openly.

“God, no. Everyone knows a teacher doesn’t make enough to own original Macedonian armour. Also, Greece refuses to sell any artefact to American citizens considering their scuffle with the British Museum.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she considered Morgan’s question. “I don’t think so. The chances of a child predator in a small town are ridiculously low since state law requires registered sex offenders live 2,000 feet from schools and Texas’s registry is public. I suppose the problem would then be unregistered ones, in which case, kids are always under supervision. Most likely, he would have to be someone that the kids trust. In that scenario, the only adults with that kind of trust would be family friends, family, the teachers and the bus driver. I’ve met all the parents and none of them fit the psychological requirements of a sexual predator and honestly, neither do the teachers.”

Morgan smiled at her thought process. “We don’t think it’s a sexual act since the bodies don’t show any sign of a sexual assault.”

Piper mulled over the new information. “I know those kids. They’re good kids and even if it just boils down to a case of rage, no adult within their inner circles would be capable of such a thing. It’s not that it’s impossible, but it is highly unlikely. A lot of these people have kids of their own.” She saw the disbelief on their faces so she switched tacks. “What’s your profile of the killer?”

“We can’t disclose that to the public yet.” Piper nodded and before any doubts could close in, she pulled out her resume from an inner drawer, sliding it over to Morgan.

"I'm only asking if I can help."

Morgan whistled and Reid glanced at the sheet over his shoulder. “4 PhDs in clinical, child, abnormal and counselling psychology. And you're a history teacher?”

Piper glanced at the door. “It doesn't matter." She let out a shaky breath. “I am more than qualified to help you out, Agent Morgan, so please let me.” Morgan looked back at Reid who shrugged.

* * *

“Can I have your attention please?” The local department turned to focus on Agent Gideon. “We’d like to make something clear.” He cleared his throat. “Due to the velocity of change, we predict this offender could try to strike again at any time. His confidence builds with every attack.”

“Look for someone physically fit, shy, kind disposition. Someone you may trust with your own child. Because the killer targets kids, he may be small himself,” Morgan took over, “and though we keep referring to this unsub as he, do not rule out a woman.”

A mother and her young son rushed over to the small congregation. Piper recognised her. “Excuse me. My son Matthew never came home today.”

Gideon stepped forward, asking where he was last seen. “His teachers saw him in the parking lot after school.” At that moment, all officers and agents moved to start looking for the boy. Reid and Morgan turned to the map, trying to figure out how and where he may be taken. Noticing the woman in distress and panic, JJ asked the woman to take a seat. Piper watched the scene from a corner and focused on the little boy with her.

"Hey, Peter," she called out to him. "We'll find Matthew, okay? Your brother's going to be just fine."

“Matty said he was just gonna ring the doorbell," he managed and Piper blanched. "At the haunted house. On the hill.”

“Finnegan’s place,” interrupted James.

“Kind of a local legend,” Piper added. “Folks say he watches kids from the window. Hunts them. Skins them. Eats them.”

“Why weren’t we told about this?” Morgan faced the sheriff. “Fables often come from an ounce of truth. We should exhaust every possibility.”

* * *

As day turned to night and the FBI agents raided Finnegan’s manor, Piper sat on her porch, mulling the profile over and over. She knew the people in town. She’d have known if there was a killer in their midst. _Do you, though? Do you think you know better than professional profilers? What, because you wrote a few research papers in 4 years. Get a grip._ She glanced at Old Man Finnegan’s place. He’d stopped coming into the town after his wife died, she knew that much. _No, it couldn’t be him. Why would the kids trust a man they fear? So, who?_ Shaking her head, the young woman walked into the house. She grabbed a mandarin from her little fruit bowl and busied herself making a cup of tea. _I have to be making an assumption. C’mon Pipes!_ Her mind flashed back to class. The little boy in her 7th-grade class yelling at little Hailey then the incident in April in the parking lot. Ignoring the yell of her kettle, Piper left her orange on the counter and rushed to her dining table to her binders. She scrambled to her 7th-grade class binder. Jeffrey Charles and on top, her cursive handwriting that her mom was so damn proud of.

> Father, James Charles, guidance counsellor. Mother, unknown, left in Apr. 2006.

She flicked to her notes.

> Disruptive. Borderline bully. Possesses strained empathy for others. Loner. Apathetic towards school. Can be attributed to a broken family.

She glanced at the time. 1:30 am. _Shit. Should I call Morgan anyway?_ Piper pulled out her phone and the card Derek had given her. Not giving her brain the chance to overthink, Piper dialled the number. After 7 rings, she hangs up. _Of course, he didn’t pick up your call. Did you really think what you have to say matters?_ She brushed the nasty voice of her dad off but left the phone on the table. She took the kettle off, turned the lights off, locked the door, and went to bed.

* * *

The boys separated in the night, torches and guns at the ready. Gideon and Reid took the back while Morgan and the sheriff took the front of the house. Morgan flicked the lights on and off, but nothing happened. “Definitely haunted.”

Gideon and Reid edged towards the garage. “FBI,” Gideon yelled, only to hear the soft mumbles of a child.

“I didn’t want the old man to find me.”

“All right,” Gideon said, rather gruffer than he intended, “No one’s gonna harm you.”

* * *

Spencer settled down in the darkness. “Hey Garcia, did you get anything?” he greeted their tech analyst softly.

 _“Well, only that Finnegan’s house in the hill is like the Bates hotel of Ozona, Texas.”_ She grinned and continued her knitting.

“Yeah, we heard the legends.”

 _“Spencer, seriously, people that go into that house supposedly never come out. SpOoKy!”_ Penelope sang.

“Garcia, could you at least pretend not to enjoy that rumour so much considering I’ve actually entered the house?”

 _“Sensitive,”_ she mocked the young doctor. _“Sorry.”_

“Besides, local police say there are no reports of that happening.”

 _“Yeah, this is true. All complaints filed were false alarms. But then there is that matter of his missing wife,”_ the blonde taunted.

“Wife? What wife? When did she go missing?”

 _“Almost 50 years ago,”_ she said sinisterly.

“Is there no record of her ever being found?”

 _“I got 2 words for you my friend, rear window.”_ Reid abandoned his files to pay attention to his dear, quirky and unrelentingly mischievous friend. _“That guy probably chopped that lady up into delicious, bite-sized little pieces.”_

Something creaked outside Reid’s window.

 _“Think about it, Spencer,”_ she continued, _“she may have never left the premises.”_ Garcia could barely contain her giggles. “ _She may still be in the house,”_ she whispered into her mic.

That creaking something creaked again.

“Garcia, I’m sitting here in the dark, alone. Thanks.”

 _“While you’re waiting for a potential murderer to come home, that’s kinda dangerous.”_ Garcia smiled into her mic, twisting her pen in her hand and picturing the deliciously scared features on Spencer’s face. _“Kinda sexy,”_ she added.

“I gotta go,” Reid said, looking out into the darkness on the other side of the window.

_“You’re having creepy fun. I wish I were there.”_

As Reid turned off his cell, he glanced back towards the noises on the stairs. Slowly standing up, he felt something. An entity. A presence. An existence. Spencer turned his head around, only to bump into a tall, dark stranger and he jumped, terrified. “You really are afraid of the dark,” Derek said, smiling.

“I’m working on it,” Spencer shot back quickly and walked away.

“You should work a little harder.”

The sheriff came back to the group, reporting that his deputy would get the boy back safe. Morgan shook his head. The whole town was on edge. Perhaps that’s why Finnegan was in the wind. The agent flicked his torch to the wall, only to see a rack of rifles.

“The unsub didn’t use a gun,” Gideon pointed out. He kept walking, piecing together his thoughts aloud. “Finnegan’s an avid hunter, why didn’t he use it?” He reached under the table to pull out Robbie’s lunchbox and Sarah’s backpack.

“I guess Finnegan brought the kids back here before finishing them off. But why wouldn’t he get rid of the evidence?”

“He considers them trophies," Spencer said softly.

Morgan huffed. "When this is all said and done, I’d like to hang his head on a wall.”

* * *

Morgan, Reid and Gideon paced the next crime scene, only this time it wasn’t a child. It was Finnegan. The medical examiner explained that he died of natural causes.

“His heart probably gave out while setting this trap,” Reid suggested.

“Yeah, well, karma’s a bitch,” the M.E. commented, “those coyotes were gnawing on him for a week.”

“Before the second or third murders even happened,” Morgan pointed out.

“This area’s off the travelled path, it’s a wonder anyone even discovered him at all,” Gideon noted.

“If you ask me,” the medical examiner suggested, “those leaves didn’t cover him by themselves.”

“If Finnegan’s been dead all this time, who’s living in his house?”

* * *

Piper Bishop rose later than usual. 7 am. She’d missed the sunrise. Shit. Pulling on her slippers, she went through the rounds; a cup of tea, pancakes, review of the class schedule and that’s when she remembered. She meant to call Morgan in the morning. She dialled his cell again. Nothing. Sighing, she told herself she’d drop by later today. She changed into her favourite outfit, white satin button-up, dark blue pants, grey blazer, drop necklace.

* * *

“Here’s a question,” Reid asked, crossing his legs on the couch, “if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if nobody hears it?”

Morgan stared at him. “What the hell are you reading over there?”

“I was just thinking,” Reid gazed back at the journals on his lap.

“Found something,” Gideon announced. The boys followed him into the kitchen.

“Provisions,” he said, staring at the near-dozen near-empty dishes, “delivered by the church to every elderly’s doorstep.” He waved his hand to all of them, saying, “Each one dated after Finnegan died.”

“So the unsub ate everything?” Morgan asked.

“Almost everything,” Gideon answered, “unopened bowls of creamed spinach thrown in the trash, each one wrapped with duct tape.”

“One with each tray,” Spencer noted, handling the casings carefully.

“So we’re looking for a guy who really, really hates spinach?” Morgan was exasperated.

“Who doesn’t?” Spencer retorted.

“Ritualised, meticulous, organised,” Gideon listed. “He would eat the same particulars.” Reid was confused. “Full prints,” he ordered. At that, Gideon’s cell rang and seeing the name, walked out.

“It’s about Elle, isn’t it?” Spencer said, walking closer to Derek, arms crossed. “I talked to her in Ohio.”

“Reid, we all talked to her.”

“No, no, I talked to her before. I went to her room one night and…she was drinking.”

“She almost died. I’d be drinking too.”

* * *

To say Piper was frustrated would not even begin to cover her chagrin at being unable to talk to Morgan. He wasn’t answering his cell and she couldn’t find a sub this last minute. Her students felt the tension and none wanted to see her explode. They kept quiet, answering their comprehension questions of Alexander the Great’s Persian conquests. As soon as the bell rang, she started, rushing students out the door and grabbing her bag. She dialled the sheriff’s number and asked to meet him as soon as possible.

“Just hear me out, Sheriff,” she pleaded.

“You really expect me to believe that a child could do something as heinous as this.”

“Jeffrey isn’t an ordinary child. His mother left him in April, you know that. Children grow resentful of other children anyway.”

“That’s ridiculous. So he’s a little jealous.” He got up and started pacing.

“Except he’s not just resentful about mothers, it’s about James too. You and I both know how much he cares about those kids. Some days he calls me at 3 in the morning to talk about how stressed he is. Not 'cause of his workload, but 'cause he’s worried he’s not doing enough. Sheriff, I’m begging you to see reason.”

“No, you’re delusional.”

“I don’t think you know what that word means and you definitely aren’t qualified to use it.”

"A child would never do this.”

“That’s exactly why you’ll never find your killer.”

“Are you doubting me, Ms Bishop?”

“No,” she said forcefully, “Quite frankly, Sheriff, you don’t know the first thing about kids. I’ve seen how worried Langdon gets sometimes because he’s scared that his Daddy isn’t going to come home one day. I’m not doubting your ability, Sheriff, I’m doubting whether you’ll find the unsub before another child has to die. 3 children are dead, I’m trying to help and for the record, it’s Doctor.” For once, she felt calmer and having said her piece, she walked out the sheriff’s office, greeting Agent Gideon politely before she walked away from the both of them.

* * *

“Why the woods, JJ?” Morgan asked, sipping his terrible coffee in the station’s waiting room.

“Hmm?”

“Your fear, you said it was of the woods. Why?”

“Oh, I was a camp counsellor when I was a teenager. In the woods up in Vermont, I had the night shift. Tucked the girls in, turned off the lights, you know the typical stuff. Everything seemed fine, all the kids were asleep, you know. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until, I noticed there was some blood on the hallway floor. So I followed the blood trail out to the camp director’s cabin, walked up to his bed and he was just lying underneath his covers, dead. Someone stabbed him. I ran out of there so fast, out the door, down the hall, I just remember it being really dark and once I got to the door, there was another counsellor. I guess she must have heard me scream. Anyway, they caught the cleaner on his way to town. He must have had the knife on him. So, that’s when I decided didn’t like the woods.” JJ fought to suppress her giggles at Derek’s expression.

“You’re serious?”

“No,” She laughed. “No, I don’t know why I’m afraid of the woods. Why is he still afraid of the dark?”

“Yeah, Reid?”

“Because of the inherent absence of light,” he replied.

“That was good JJ,” Morgan’s phone started ringing, “Just know that paybacks are a bitch.”

“Hey girl,” he called to his favourite tech analyst.

_“I love our relationship. We barely need words.”_

“Talk to me, baby.”

 _“So I pulled two sets of prints of those trays,”_ she said.

“Two?”

_“Yeah, one of them belonging to a child?”_

“Okay, which one of the victims? Why don’t you work with the Ozona Coroner’s Office?”

_“Oh baby, that’s so yesterday. I’ve already got those minions working on it. The other set, however, is on the database. Name is James Charles, he’s the-”_

“He’s the local guidance counsellor helping with the investigation.”

 _“You’re kidding. Sending address now.”_ Morgan looked at the two agents who had just abandoned their cups.

“Call Gideon. We know who the unsub is.”

* * *

Piper was supervising the history projects. She’d managed to pull off having a history fair with a Renaissance theme to cheer the kids up. Each kid had to make a diorama and the history department would judge based on creativity, historical merit and above all enthusiasm, a word she was not feeling. A month ago, she would’ve been over the moon, but now, all she was thinking about was when the next body would show up. She’d yelled at the sheriff and Agent Gideon had seen it. It was unprofessional and now they’d never listen to her. _So you finally agree then? It was a stupid and unnecessary thing to say. Clearly, you aren’t as praiseworthy as teachers say._ “Ugh.” Piper swept her short wavy hair into a tight ponytail. Kneeling next to Langdon, she asked him where Jeffrey was. His shrug was worrying. Piper pulled out her cell and called the administration office. “Hi ladies, is Jeffrey at school today? He’s not in my class.”

_“His dad called him in sick.”_

“Thanks, girls.” Piper tried to push it out of her mind. Maybe she was wrong.

After school was out, Piper grabbed her things and left. _That’s right, baby girl. Just let the police do their job and just go home like the insignificant bitch you are._ She grabbed her helmet and was about to drive home when she got a call from the ladies in Administration.

_“It’s James. They’ve arrested them, Piper. What do we do?”_

“Hang tight Claudia, I’ll deal with it, okay.”

* * *

“Here’s the deal,” Morgan leaned over James in the interrogation room, “I could stand here and tell you what I think you were doing in Finnegan’s house for the last 2 weeks. Or, you could do us all a favour. Sign a confession, maybe get a little something taken off your time. What’d you say?”

“I never stepped inside Finnegan’s house.” James stared right back into Morgan’s eyes.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Piper slammed the door behind her. The agents turned from staring at the small television screen. “Seriously, you think Jamie would do something like this?”

“Piper,” the sheriff started.

"This is James we're talking about," Piper interrupted. "That James volunteers at the church's food drive." She jabbed at the small screen in front of them. "That James who helps Langdon with his homework. That James who's so busy comforting kids at school that he doesn't have time for his own."

“Then why won’t he talk to us? He had the baseball cap at his house, his prints are all over the food trays. I don’t see another explanation,” he reasoned.

“If this was about Nancy leaving him, he’d be killing women resembling his wife," she waved him off as Gideon watched intently. "Instead, he’s devoting every possible minute of his life to this community. There's no proof of sexual assault either. Why do you think these kids are dying?"

"Oh, not this again. A kid couldn't have done this."

"The kid lost his mom, Sheriff, and he's been developing violent behaviour ever since. He's growing resentful of kids who do have their parents. All you've got on this guy is a baseball cap and fingerprints. It doesn't prove anything.” They were all standing up, ignoring the interrogation and gawking at Piper. Reid couldn’t stop staring at her and her ears began to redden significantly. Gideon broke the silence. Piper started growing increasingly uncomfortable but stood her ground for James.

“Stay. Observe. You know him better than we do. Watch his behaviour and tell me if you don’t think he’s guilty.”

Piper was slightly relieved that Gideon took her seriously enough to let her stay.

“How these last 6 months been for you James? Not too good huh? I don’t know, your whole life is falling apart isn’t it? Oh yeah, you got to be feeling a loss of control, a sense of abandonment. And I would guess, a little impotent maybe?” Morgan chuckled. “Come on man, give me something! Why did your wife leave you? What happened James, she got bored? I mean you don’t seem all that exciting to me. She start feeling a little uninspired? You’re not a minute man, aren’t you? Uh, that’s what it is!”

“You don’t think that’s a little uncalled for?” Piper exclaimed.

“We need him to talk. If he gets angry, he may slip up.” Piper settled down.

* * *

“You think Dr Bishop’s right?” Reid asked JJ, playing with the handcuffs in his palm.

“I don’t know. I can’t believe a kid could be capable of something like this. She seems close to James too. Could be covering for him.”

“I guess so.”

“You know, it’s bad enough his mother left and now his father’s in custody. We’ve also got to take the poor kid into child services.”

“It’s the law.”

So is jaywalking. I don’t have to like it. Good afternoon this is Agent Jareau, with the FBI, we’re gonna be picking up Jeffrey Charles in about 20 minutes, if… Okay, I see. Thank you.“

"What is it?”

“Dr Bishop may have been right.”

* * *

“Jeffrey never was at school today. His father said he was sick.” JJ informed them.

Piper’s instinct was to yell 'Aha!’ but thankfully she went against it.

“Reid, go though his apartment,” Gideon ordered.

“No, you don’t seriously still think this is his fault,” Piper retorted.

“I think he may have blamed his kid for his failed marriage.”

“Then I can’t watch this interview. Let me help Dr Reid with the search.” Everyone looked at Gideon.

“Okay, fine. Reid, keep an eye on her.”

* * *

“Why are you so sure it isn’t him?” Reid asked her softly.

“Hmm?” Piper looked up from the abandoned dirty dishes.

“What you said back there, how are you so sure?” She wasn't sure what made her trust Dr Reid. Maybe it was something in his tone. Maybe it was the special properties of caffeine that linked her to him. Regardless, it made the jump and she made the dive.

"I've always loved psychology. Craved to understand the human mind and human nature and all that," she scoffed. "But James lives it. The kind of passion he has for kids, it's unparalleled. It's like Nancy left and he tried to fill that void with more love. I’ve studied it, wrote about it, talked in conferences about it, but I haven’t applied it, not the way he has. I guess if he does turn out to be the killer,” she huffed, “then he’s not the man I hoped he’d be.” Reid stared at her as she pulled the elastic from her hair and moved past Spencer to the bookshelf.

“It’s difficult. Being a single parent. Not that I would know. But I can understand.” She pulled a book off the shelf. Kurt Vonnegut. “But James handled it as best he could. He put his personal trauma aside for the whole community. The only issue was,” she turned to look back into Reid’s soft gaze, “his kid got the brunt of it. Most saints have something to hide, Doctor. Gandhi accused his eldest son of 'alcohol and debauchery,’ even sexual assault. And no-one believes me because no-one’s met the kid. He has serious rage issues, strained empathy for others and he's completely apathetic to others. I always ignored it because kids always profile as serial killers.

“Huh. Look at this.” Piper moved towards the doctor.

“It’s an EpiPen. So?”

“So, at Finnegan’s house, we found all the creamed spinach duct-taped and thrown out.”

“Spence,” Piper levelled her gaze, “Jeffrey has an allergy to dairy.”

* * *

“Can I have a word with him?” Gideon asked. Morgan nodded and left the room. “It’s a rough day, huh? Coffee?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Milk?”

“Please.”

“So how long have you known that your son is a murderer?” Gideon abruptly asked without breaking eye contact.

“What are you talking about?”

“You might have been the one who brought the food trays to Finnegan’s, but your son ate them, everything but the creamed spinach.”

“You want me to confess? Is that what this game is? That’s fine. You bring me another pen, I’ll write out my confession.”

“We found an EpiPen in your kitchen.”

“So what that proves that my kid has an allergy.”

“To milk.”

* * *

Piper sat cross-legged on the chair, head resting on the back of her arms. Morgan was almost falling asleep. Reid was on his 8th cup of coffee. Piper’s ringtone woke Derek up and she couldn’t help laughing at his flinch. “Big bad Derek Morgan’s afraid of a ringtone?” She raised the phone to her ear.

“Hi, Mrs Belle. How can I help you?” Piper’s change of expression from glee to gloom wasn’t lost on anyone. “Okay, sit tight Mrs Belle, we’ll find her. Please relax.” Piper hung up the phone and tied her short hair up again.

“Tracy Belle was just reported missing. Last seen getting off her school bus on Fuller Road.”

What happened after was just a blur. Piper had managed to convince Gideon to let her come, citing her history with both students. They’d all strapped the Kevlar suits on and found a spare for her. Reid and JJ left in one car, Morgan and the sheriff in another and Piper was paired with Gideon.

“Why are you a history teacher?” Gideon asked.

“Hmm?”

“You’re 25, you have 4 PhDs in Psychology, a Masters in History and Bachelors in Literature.”

“Thought I wasn’t doing much good in a university classroom. Swapped it for an elementary school.”

“I’m a profiler. Don’t lie to me.” Piper smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, sir." She sighed. "I guess, I didn't know when to stop. I knew that I loved learning, but I had to stop at some point. 2nd PhD in, I got an offer as a state psychiatrist."

"So, what went wrong?"

"The more I worked, the more I realised that I wasn't doing enough." She sighed again. "So I struck out on my own, started my own clinic near Boston." She snorted softly. "It was definitely enlightening. People would come and go, some better off but some worse off. I just felt lost." Gideon didn't look at her, keeping his eyes on the road. "So I stopped. I wrote books and papers. I taught at universities. I got my last few degrees. But I kept getting this nagging thing in my head, that I should be doing more. So I packed and moved.”

“Where’d you teach?”

“The main ones. Guest lectured at Brown for months at a time. Harvard was my alma mater so I was there for a semester. Columbia offered but I rejected them. They were kinda stung that I chose a high school over them.” He chuckled at that but said nothing more. Piper's gaze lingered on his smile. “None of you smile a lot,” she pointed out.

“Hmm?” he hummed.

“Especially you. Do the cases get that bad?”

“Yeah.”

“So why do it?” The car stopped near the woods. They both got out of the vehicle and headed towards the others.

“Because it has to be done.” He looked over at her and smiled.

* * *

Tracy was running. Her bag was gone. Jeffrey was going to hurt her. She knew she was at the playground, but after a few minutes, the woods had enveloped her. She prayed that her mom was looking, that someone was looking, but the only thing that filled the little girl’s little heart was the dread. Dread that in these big bad woods, she was all alone with a killer.

“Split up, she’s gotta be somewhere.”

Bishop and Gideon ran through the woods looking for the small blonde, feet pounding through dry leaves and dirt.

“Tracy!”

Trees.

“Tracy!”

Trees everywhere.

“Tracy!”

They were looking for a red and a blond needle in a green and orange haystack.

“Tracey!” Jeffrey cried in a sing-song voice. “Let’s just go home. I was only playing! Why do you have to be such a baby? Tracey?”

Tracy’s feet hurt. She should have been home by now. She staggered towards the nearest tree and hid. He couldn’t find her here, would he? Her breaths were jagged and she was terrified.

Bishop heard screaming. “Tracy!” They ran towards the piercing scream. She saw the scene unfolding and determined to be anything but helpless, Piper dove in between Jeffrey and Tracy. “Stop!” Gideon ran to Jeffrey, locking him in one arm, throwing the bat away with the other while Piper rolled down with Tracy enveloped in her arms. 

* * *

In the aftermath of things, James was pacing, scared of what his kid had become, terrified of what would happen to him. Piper held her head in her hands, sitting on the parkside bench. Morgan gently pushed Jeffrey into the car. Reid sat next to her.

“You did well.”

“Did I? I blamed a kid for a serial murder because he lost his mother. What does that make me?” Piper lifted her head to look at him.

“A pretty good profiler.” Spencer rubbed her shoulder and walked away. Piper glanced at James, pacing.

“You think you could have prevented this?”

“Maybe if I’d been there for him…”

She put a hand on his shoulder. “James, you’d put the world’s problems on your own back if you could. You can still be there for him. What he did, it isn’t his fault and it isn’t yours.” He looked at Piper, his gaze shattered, his soul broken.

“You really believe that?”

“I believe that care and love can make anything possible.”

* * *

Piper folded her maps, having packed away the Macedon’s armour and the Egyptian coffin. In less than a few hours, her classroom had become a bare skeleton of what it used to be.

“So where to next?” Gideon leaned on her desk, arms crossed.

“Taking that offer with Columbia.” She shrugged.

"You always move this much?" Piper smiled.

"I don't like staying stagnant." Jason nodded, taking everything from today in.

“You did good today," he confessed. "But…you could be better.”

“I’m sorry?” Piper was confused, to say the least. She turned fully, crossing her own arms as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Criminal profiling.” Gideon stood ramrod straight as he spoke. "You've done it before?"

"Something like that. You gonna tell me where this is headed?"

"You're a good fit. For the team." Piper blinked uneasily.

"Are you-- Is this..." Piper trailed off and Gideon took over.

"Yes. It's a job offer."

“I- In what capacity?” Piper stammered, caught off-guard.

“Consultant, on a temporary basis. If you put in the hours and do the classes, maybe even an agent. You in?”

“This a one-time offer?”

“Yes.”

"No second chances?

"No." Piper paused for a breath. _What's the worst that could happen?_

“I’m in.”


End file.
